1. Field of the Invention
The present invention may relate to an emergency door opening system with a housing in which may be located a shaped cylinder with a corresponding electrical circuit, an emergency door opening button in connection with a switch block to disarm a locking device, and an acoustical alarm transmitter.
2. Background Information
Door systems of this type are used in the form of a compact device for emergency exits in a controlled-access environment. An emergency door system of this type is marketed under the name xe2x80x9cDORMA TL-Gxe2x80x9d. In a stationary housing mounted in the vicinity of a door, there is a shaped cylinder that is used to acknowledge the alarm and to arm/disarm the door. Light-emitting diodes to indicate the locked/unlocked operating status are also integrated into the housing. In the housing, there are also an acoustical alarm transmitter and an emergency door opening button plus a switch block with positive opening operation. The housing, which is attached to a heavy-duty base that is firmly anchored to the wall, is protected by means of a tamper-protection contact. The emergency door operating button is provided with a shatterproof plastic protective cover to prevent unauthorized actuation.
An authorized person inserts his key into the shaped cylinder lock, whereupon the unlocked operating status is actuated and the door can be opened. After a specified length of time, the emergency door system is automatically returned to the locked operating status. In the event of danger, the protective cover can be destroyed by a strong blow, which simultaneously depresses the emergency door opening button, whereby an acoustical alarm is tripped. An alarm message of this type may be sufficient depending on the specific application.
German Patent No. 196 52 348 C2 also describes a known door system in the housing of which there is an emergency door opening button, visual as well as acoustical display means, an electronic circuit, and a contact unit for access authorization. To make it possible to realize different access systems while retaining the other components, the contact unit for access authorization is realized so that it is modular and replaceable.
Large properties are frequently laid out in a complex fashion and can have a plurality of doors equipped with such door systems. If an alarm is actuated, an acoustical signal does not necessarily provide enough information either for the person summoning assistance or for the service personnel to rapidly and unambiguously locate the corresponding emergency door system.
German Patent No. 195 31 323 A1 describes a known emergency door system that actuates both acoustical and visual alarm transmitters. The emergency door system is located at the operating level near the door, while the alarm transmitters are located above the door and are connected to the emergency door system by means of connecting lines. Although this arrangement is satisfactory with regard to the location of an escape route, the cost and effort required for the installation of the distributed located elements are very high.
One possible object of the present invention may therefore be to improve an emergency door opening system with an emergency door-opening button, in which emergency door system a user-friendly and customer-friendly visual arrangement of the visual display elements may be created, which arrangement can be installed with the emergency door system essentially quickly, easily, and economically. The emergency door system may therefore be designed to be suitable both for surface installation and for flush-mounted installation.
In at least one possible embodiment, the present invention preferably teaches a display module that can be closed by a cover frame that integrates an integrated protective glass which surrounds the emergency door opening switch. The central location of all the visual display elements in one display module may significantly reduce the cost and effort of installation, because there may be no need to install external visual display elements in the vicinity of the door. Moreover, there may be an essentially compact and therefore economical unit which may be an essentially optimized with regard to the utilization of the available space in the housing of the emergency door system.
A possible additional purpose of integrating the display module into the emergency door system may be to reduce sharp-edged or projecting housing parts, thereby reducing the potential that the unit may cause damage to other parts or injury to users. The location of the display module on the emergency operating button in particular may make it possible for service personnel to take in all the visual displays on the module in a single glance and to determine in a single glance whether the emergency operating button is lit.
In at least one possible embodiment of the present invention, the emergency door opening system may be controlled manually or by a microprocessor or by remote control.
The interchangeability of the display module may reduce the number of replacement parts that have to be kept in a manufacturer""s or supplier""s inventory and may make it possible to retrofit a basic version with the least possible effort and at the least possible cost. All the wiring in the emergency door system may be realized in the form of standard wiring so that the replacement of a module may not require any special adaptations. The door terminals also may have an essentially uniform appearance.
The corresponding contact unit can be used as a function of the desired display philosophy, whereby the installation of this contact unit may remain identical on all doors. In particular, the time, effort, and expense required for the restructuring measures may be significantly reduced in at least one possible embodiment of the present invention, because in most cases, all that may be necessary may be to replace the contact unit. The housing and the wiring may not be at all involved in this operation, because the individual contact units may be provided with corresponding plug-in connectors which may make it possible to essentially immediately convert or modify a basic system.
In one basic version, the display module can contain the status displays for the shaped cylinder only. These status displays can be realized by means of luminous elements of different colors. This basic version may be suitable for applications in which no visual alarm transmitters are necessary. An additional display module equipped with a visual alarm transmitter may be suitable for applications in which the system or the escape route cannot be localized with sufficient accuracy by an acoustical alarm transmitter.
An essentially optimal alarm transmitter with regard to essential easy recognition and luminous intensity may be a flashing light or strobe light. The output and effectiveness of the light can be essentially optimized in particular by reflectors that may be located in the module or by fiber optics structures.
So that the visual signal can be seen from as many directions as possible, it may further be appropriate to realize the housing of the emergency door system, the cover frame, or the mounting frame of the display module itself with at least some translucent areas or fiber optic structures. In this case it may be possible, for example, to manufacture the cover frame essentially completely from an essentially translucent material or to realize the housing of the emergency door system so that it is partly translucent. Fiber optic structures can also achieve an increased light distribution. One simple variant may be the insertion or attachment of fiber optic structures into and/or on the mounting frame. The light from the display means can be fed into internal and external optical fibers, for example, and distributed by means of the special geometry of the optical fibers, whereby the internal optical fiber distributes the light uniformly over a circular ring-shaped area that is visible from the front, and the external optical fiber distributes the light toward the front and toward the side to essentially guarantee good visibility from all sides. Also conceivable are light sources of different brightness that are illuminated in alternation and display self-explanatory symbols, for example.
The front plate of the display module can also be covered with a luminescent sheet or can even be directly coated with a luminescent material. A projecting arrangement of the display module with respect to the housing of the emergency door system may further increase the visibility of the signal and the distribution of the light if an alarm is given.
The mounting frame of the display module may snap into the system housing with the application of light pressure. The snap connections may be realized so that they are not accessible from outside, so that even when the cover frame is open, it may be essentially impossible to remove the module without destroying it.
The cover frame may comprise a protective glass which must be broken to sound the alarm. The protective glass may be preferred over the variant made of plastic because the potential for injury when the glass shatters may represent a certain barrier that may discourage vandalism or tampering.
The unauthorized opening or removal of the cover frame can be made more difficult or can be indicated by mechanical means and/or by electrical means that trigger a silent alarm in a switching control center or in the display module, so that appropriate measures can be initiated essentially immediately.
A cover frame can be fastened to the mounting frame so that it swings out or opens on hinges, for example. When the cover frame is swung shut, matching catch means on the mounting frame and the cover frame are engaged with one another. The cover frame may also be blocked in position by means of a bar to protect it from tampering. After the emergency door operating button has been actuated, only authorized persons may be able to reset this block. In connection with the locking means, the unauthorized and non-destructive removal of the cover frame may become essentially impossible.
When the locking bar or bolt is deactivated, an unintentional opening of the cover frame may be essentially prevented by the catch means, which may also make possible a correct positioning of the cover frame with respect to the mounting frame. This correct positioning may be necessary for an essentially reliable actuation of an optional tamper-protection contact that may be located on the plate, which can be realized, for example, in the form of a micro-switch or a reed contact. The tamper-protection contact may be actuated by a lug that may be located on the cover frame.
The above-discussed embodiments of the present invention will be described further hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying figures. When the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d is used in this specification, the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d includes xe2x80x9cinventionsxe2x80x9d, that is, the plural of xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d. By stating xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d, Applicants do not in any way admit that the present application does not include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention, and maintain that this application may include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention. Applicants hereby assert that the disclosure of this application may include more than one invention, and, in the event that there is more than one invention, that these inventions may be patentable and non-obvious one with respect to the other.